Restaurant review | Links-N-Lemonade: Tasty hot dogs are served with side order of fun

By G.A. Benton For The Columbus Dispatch

Thursday

Oct 24, 2019 at 5:00 AMOct 24, 2019 at 7:38 AM

The sweltering days of a brutally drawn-out summer are finally behind us, so it’s time to become nostalgic about them. If this describes you, a new place in the Graceland Shopping Center can scratch that itch.

It’s Links-N-Lemonade, where every meal is a little like eating at a state fair.

Don’t think that Links makes fried things on a stick that might be swallowed on a dare. No, its small menu is wholly devoted to a more old-fashioned style of summery fare: hot dogs, fresh-cut fries, baked beans and icy house lemonade ($3.25) — a bracingly yet quite pleasurable tart-sweet drink occupying a huge foam cup.

Walking inside the compact, dog-celebrating restaurant might elicit a giggle or three. The mustard-yellow wall that leads to the ketchup-red restrooms is lined with lovable mutts posed in mug shots. There’s also a picture of a canine clad like Charlie Chaplin plus a parody of Magritte’s "Son of Man" painting in which the suited gentleman’s apple-covered face is replaced by a dead ringer for the Lemonhead candy logo. This is notable because Lemonhead candy lagniappes accompany every order here.

The popular, fast-casual shop has a TV as well. It prompted smiles a few football Saturdays ago, when it beamed in the ugly struggle between Michigan and Iowa while a steady stream of scarlet-and-gray-attired customers glanced its way during visits for stadium-style concessions before that evening’s Michigan State game (a Buckeyes victory, by the way).

I found much of this amusing, but it’s all business when you step to the counter. Servers at Links are keenly focused on getting orders out quickly and getting them right — both of which occurred consistently during my visits. This efficiency — which might stem from the restaurant’s origin in the dog-eat-dog food-truck business — was greatly appreciated.

Speaking of dog-eating, the standard wieners that Links serves are good ones: juicy, garlic-scented, all-beef quarter-pounders. Very solid veggie dogs, made by the Field Roast company, are available as substitutes.

The wieners at Links are split down the middle, griddled and filled with a wide selection of free, customizable toppings that includes relish, spicy mustard, banana peppers, shredded cheddar, onions, sauerkraut, jalapenos and more. If you’re a maximalist like me, this can result in a glorious, nine-napkin mess enjoyed for the very reasonable price of $4.75.

Caveat: There is a weak link in the eatery’s hand-held delights: the nondescript, non-toasted, non-sturdy buns disintegrate after a few bites. Here is a simple solution: Ask for a plastic knife and fork.

Some specialty hot dogs are offered at an upcharge. The best value among these is the famous coney dog ($5.75), adorned with a house meat sauce that’s a not-too-distant cousin of Cincinnati-style chili. For added fun, I recommend accessorizing this with freebies of cheese, kraut, onions and spicy mustard.

Although my Windy City frankfurter ($6.50) lacked its advertised sport peppers, the salty-and-spicy ensemble was a fairly credible and satisfying Chicago-style hot dog.

The tomato-boosted onion sauce is more cinnamony than its inspiration, but the New Yorker ($5.75) — which has the requisite spicy mustard and kraut — is a decent approximation of the beloved hot dogs sold from the Sabrett-brand street carts lining Manhattan.

Fans of the Polish boy, a sandwich popular in northeastern Ohio, should target the Clevelander ($6.75). Like the original, it’s topped with barbecue sauce, slaw and fries.

That fine slaw isn’t sold as a side, but the very good fries are — yet solely in an enormous, feeds-three-to-four portion ($4.25). The spuds easily outclass the only other side option: a curiously small container of fairly routine sweet baked beans fortified with bacon.

gabenton.dispatch@gmail.com

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